Fat people use more gasoline, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a study by faculty members of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The study, which is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of The Engineering Economist, says that an additional 938 million gallons of gas are used annually because drivers and passengers are considerably heavier than in 1960.

In 1960, the average adult male weighed 166 pounds and the female weighed 140. In 2002, those averages were 191 and 164, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

"Our nation's hunger for food and our nation's hunger for oil are not independent," said computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson, who co-wrote the study.

The project looked only at noncommercial travel and was based on the simple fact that heavier cars use more gas.

"There are many health benefits for losing weight," Jacobson said. "An unexpected benefit is that we would use less fuel."

But not much, said John Felmy, chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, the story said. "It's an interesting calculation. But we use about 140 billion gallons a year. The savings would be less than 1 percent."

Though really, it is sad what people get paid to 'research' I heard about one study that was conducted to figure out why toddlers fall off tricycles. Conclusion was: They lost their balance! OMGWTFBBQ???